


Drip and Blend

by jongdae



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-03
Updated: 2015-09-03
Packaged: 2018-04-18 20:24:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4719260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongdae/pseuds/jongdae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fending off the coffee shop owner’s admirers was not part of Baekhyun’s job description. Nor was falling for one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drip and Blend

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted at thedaelight @ LJ.

In most cases, Baekhyun chose to ignore them. 

He would sometimes slip a line or two to help Minseok get away, something like “Minseok-ssi, you’re needed on the phone” or “Jongin overslept and overbaked the cupcakes again”. 

And occasionally he would be the one to casually hand Minseok a tall glass of water for the latter to ‘accidentally’ spill over an especially irritating customer. 

But that was it. 

He mostly did not bother too much about them because they were too difficult and challenging for a laid-back guy like him. At least, that was what he believed.

But honestly speaking, he _really_ did not care for all these admirers his boss had.

Besides, usually Minseok was pretty good in dealing with them by himself, and there was also Kyungsoo, the espresso barista, who was very innovatively cooperative in terms of getting rid of certain coffee (read: Minseok) enthusiasts. Nevertheless, it did get a bit tiring when he had to serve several admirers in a row, and trying to ignore people’s existences did drain a good chunk of his patience.

“I have never quite exactly, precisely, _specifically_ expected this to be the greater part of this job,” blabbered Baekhyun as he slumped further onto the clean steel counter. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes very subtly while he was drying the last coffee saucer on the rack. 

“A job’s a job, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo replied monotonously, “I think Minseok’s generous enough, too. It’s not like you’re doing anything about _them_ anyways.”

Baekhyun whined into his hands only to groan helplessly when he heard the doors’ wooden wind chimes tinkle ominously, again.

“Who is it, this time?” Baekhyun whispered or whimpered, not daring to look up. “It’s only nine in the morning. Bloody Monday. I’m worn out.”

Kyungsoo glimpsed at the customer, greeted him with a trademark heart-shaped smile before promptly turning back to Baekhyun with his default neutral face. Baekhyun used to think it was freakish how smooth or unsmooth (he couldn’t decide) the transitions were between Kyungsoo’s expressions, but he was used to it now.

“New customer. Don’t know him,” Kyungsoo mouthed.

Baekhyun’s face lit up, and he let out a sigh of relief. “God bless!” 

He fetched a glass from the cupboard, filled it with water, slid a menu under his left arm, and marched over to the new customer a tad too gleefully.

Matte chestnut-colored hair, prominent cheeks a bit too high to Baekhyun’s liking, thick black fashionable glasses resting on top of them, and attire that to Baekhyun’s standards were passable. Overall, Baekhyun evaluated mentally, the new client looked friendly and _sane_ (the most important point), especially with that overly amiable smile.

“Welcome,” chirped Baekhyun as he placed the menu and glass onto the table. “Let me know when you’ve decided on your order or if you need recs.”

Before Baekhyun could twirl around to walk back to the main counter, the client reached out a bit.

“Um, hold on.”

There was a shy pause, and Baekhyun waited a bit stiffly as the new customer scanned through the black coffee section of the menu, words still trying to form at his mouth.

“What blend would you recommend?”

Baekhyun almost mechanically responded, “Mild or strong?”

The client bit his lip once and then decided quite quickly, “Mild, but not too sour? Not too full bodied either.”

Baekhyun blinked. “Err. I’ll suggest our specialty blend then? It’s that one. The Beijing Blend. Tastes a bit like Blue Mountain.”

The client smiled again and nodded. “Alright, I’ll take that one. Do you do siphoned coffee?”

“No, we specialize in hand-drip. Is that okay?”

“Oh! Yeah, that’s okay.”

Baekhyun turned away with light momentum and called out as he walked back to the counter, “Minseok-hyung, get out now, a customer wants B.B.”

Kyungsoo started the kettle to reboil the water, on the side counter, and grabs for a jar of coffee beans, labeled with a poorly scribbled “B.B. (don’t cry)”. 

Baekhyun slipped the menu back into place before walking over to rinse a Hario coffee dripper and carafe with steamy water from the espresso machine, taking a cup specifically assigned for Beijing blends, and filling it up with boiled water.

It was only until the water Kyungsoo prepared started whistling that the pastel-pink-haired boss stepped out from the inner kitchenette, a phone still pressed on his cheek, a list in his hands, eyes showing a light hint of irritation. Baekhyun guessed it must have been the delivery guy on the other end, giving out bad excuses for orders of sugar pouches that never came the day before.

“Of course we still need the sugar. We’re a café,” Minseok’s politeness and flat tone were a tad cold but not all completely menacing, “Some people just can’t take it without sugar.”

Minseok gracefully put the phone aside without further comment, not even bothering to hang up, while he whisked the angry kettle and poured, with poise, into the coffee carafe.

Kyungsoo handed him the jar of Beijing Blend beans, and Minseok took a measuring spoon and prepared to grind the beans.

“Who’s this for?” he asked without looking up; he was waiting for the moist coffee powder to rise and seep through.

Kyungsoo answered quietly before Baekhyun could, “Some new guy. Table twelve.”

Minseok glanced up and somehow locked eyes with the new client who had probably been watching the hand-dripping procedure. It wasn’t a long glance, and Minseok looked back down to the coffee and concluded, “He won’t want sugar or milk.”

Minseok was right for such predictions about nine on ten times, so Baekhyun promptly put the sugar and milk away. It was probably this kind of thorough understanding of a person’s particularity and tastes that made a lot of customers want to come back; they felt like they were understood and heeded to even though they never had to word it out per se. 

One glance was all it took for Minseok to gauge a customer’s preferences, and that was pure innate talent. 

After all, Minseok was the main barista and the owner of the café. He did most of the hand-drip orders, while Kyungsoo dealt with espresso-based ones, and Baekhyun was sort of a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. His lattes always turned out too sweet despite no sugar or syrup (Kyungsoo said it was the way he frothed the milk) and his hand-dripping techniques were very rough and amateurish. He had previously worked at a local chain coffeehouse, but his experience of using preset machines really did not amount to much in an independently run sophisticated coffee shop like Minseok’s. 

(Other members of the café included a high school student called Kim Jongin with whom Baekhyun never really got to talk with due to different shifts, posts, and personalities, and Chinese exchange student Yixing who dealt with baked sweets and miscellaneous things in the back kitchenette and who basically never came out of there.)

Minseok was the star of the café; that went without saying. He had a certain aura—perhaps unapproachable because he was usually not talkative but not entirely intimidating because of his baby cheeks—that captivated people so easily, made everyone stop in what they were doing to just watch him with awe. 

And when he took up a kettle and started pouring, even time would slow down and stop in a graceful and mesmerizing way. Exactly like the odd adrenaline-filled sensation one would get when watching a scene in a sci-fi movie where some hunk of a superhero stopped physical time. I.e. the scenes in the recent supernatural movie that featured Huang Zitao, the popular rapper-turned-actor.

Granted, Baekhyun did not blame the people who fell for Minseok. He just wished there was a certain cap to the number of admirers one could have when one was not even a celebrity. 

So when Baekhyun had just quickly and innocently glanced at the new client and noticed the, so to say, _peculiar_ gaze said client was holding on Minseok, Baekhyun whined like an upset puppy and let his head fall to the cash register in a dull thump.

At face value, the gaze definitely read “This Fool Here is Heads Over Heels and Definitely Single (and Ready to Mingle)”.

“Fuck,” Baekhyun then cursed into his hands then dragged them down on his face, making a poutful grimace, “Please, please, _please_ let me be wrong.” 

Minseok was already bringing the coffee towards table twelve, and Baekhyun crossed his fingers, hoping for the best: something stupid to the effect of “he’s going to find the coffee too sour it would turn his life sour, and he’ll just walk away (sourly) and never, ever, _EVER_ come back”.

But of course he came back, the very next day. 

In fact, he came back every single day.

And he then became known amongst the staff, through Minseok, as chestnut-hair Kim Jongdae.

* * *

Around a week and a half later.

“Who. Is. That. Guy,” demanded recently-dyed-pink-hair Luhan, regular customer-slash-Minseok-admirer, sending inimical dagger glances at Jongdae, who was chatting harmlessly with Minseok about hand-drip coffee while the main barista was preparing a cup of Beijing blend. 

“A new… customer,” answered Baekhyun prudently as he prepared to froth milk (Kyungsoo was away). Baekhyun pondered on whether or not he should quickly change the subject, but before he could get to that, Luhan spoke.

“Is that B.B. he’s having? Because I am NOT okay with that,” he practically bemoaned, “That is MY coffee based on MY hometown abbreviated to MY favorite pop song (sort of) and, made with love, by MY barista.”

Baekhyun groaned. “You don’t even drink Beijing blends, Luhan, and Kyungsoo and I make your lattes, not Minseok,” he then hands him a ready cup, “Here’s your caramel plus vanilla syrup latte with two extra sugar. Now, get going.”

“That’s not the point!”

Luhan nonchalantly grabbed the cup, and to Baekhyun’s dismay, he started walking opposite to where the door was, straight towards Jongdae and Minseok at the hand-drip counter.

Luhan leaned onto the bartop and then forced Jongdae off it by sliding conspicuously between them both, barging rudely into their conversations about roasting coffee beans, and spitefully tipping Jongdae’s take-out cup lightly, yet it was enough to cause it to spill over to the floor.

“Baozi-ah! How have you been doing? By the by, how do you like my hair?” Luhan chirped innocently, feigning obliviousness, as Jongdae was still trying to understand what had just happened. Baekhyun heaved a sigh, groaned louder, and grabbed a mop and cleaning cloth.

“Ah, Luhan. I’ve been doing fine. Your hair’s alright. Did you not have a class to attend though, right about now?”

“Oh, it got cancelled!” was the prompt reply.

Baekhyun snorted.

Jongdae sort of just stepped back dejectedly as he realized his chat-time with Minseok was over. He watched Baekhyun clean up the coffee on the floor instead, and he knelt down to pick up the drenched cup and lid.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered to Baekhyun, who just pretty much shrugged it off. 

“It’s okay,” the novice barista responded, “I’m sorry about your coffee.”

“I … yeah. I must have left it too close to the edge,” Jongdae said, but both he and Baekhyun knew clearly that the cup was within safe tip-over boundaries of the counter.

Somehow the stiffness of the silence got to Baekhyun, and before he could register in his brain about it, he offered, “I’ll make you a latte.”

Jongdae was slightly confused, “Ah, no, it’s okay, haha. I’ll pass. I’ve got to get going, um, thanks anyways. I appreciate the thought.”

Baekhyun sighed and was really not going to insist, but he found himself doing exactly that. “Come on. It’s on me. It’ll be quick. Max two minutes. Take a seat.”

Jongdae blinked a few times, unmoving, so Baekhyun dragged him to a seat close by, and sat him down before moving back to the counter towards the espresso machine.

Baekhyun started the coffee grinder. The angry-sounding noise filled the café and covered up Luhan’s voice as the latter was still squealing about Minseok’s cheeks. Minseok, who had caught on to what Baekhyun was doing, winked at him apologetically, which only got Luhan to turn around and eye Baekhyun in a hostile way for a split second, but Baekhyun was honestly used to it.

He took out a carton of milk from the fridge, poured some into a pitcher, placed it aside, grabbed for a portafilter and prepared a puck. 

He glanced towards Jongdae’s seat, half making sure that the guy was still there, half wondering if the guy would even like his sweet lattes. Once confirmed on point one, he looked back down and got to work, and contemplated dismissing point two.

But Baekhyun could feel Jongdae scrutinizing his every movement; perhaps in a bored way, perhaps in a condescending way, perhaps still utterly confused, but for either ways it sort of made Baekhyun feel considerably nervous. 

He started feeling a bit self-conscious about the procedure, suddenly remembering about how Jongdae was more or less knowledgeable about coffee-making and coffee culture. What if he messed up the milk frothing? What if he messed up the puck? Or worse, spill the milk all over because he knocked it too hard?

And what was he going to do for the latte art? A rosetta? A free-pour heart? Did he want to impress? Or should he just go with something simple? 

Baekhyun burnt his finger mildly while taking a preheated cup, but he was too preoccupied with all the floating questions in his mind to even groan or curse. He also became self-conscious of his posture. He tried to discreetly keep his back straighter than his usual semi-slump, and pulled up his sleeves a bit. And then he arranged his dull working apron nervously.

He was prepared to free pour into the espresso, still pondering hard about what to do. Typically, he would do the heart because it was the easiest, but conceivably he had a sort of urge to impress, and he was not sure how a heart would go by right now, as a free drink over something that was not even Baekhyun’s fault to begin with.

He poured and wiggled the pitcher in attempt for a rosetta, which honestly only Kyungsoo was great at, and it turned out to look like a layered heart instead. A bit like an asymmetrical French palmier cookie.

Baekhyun frowned a bit, but since he couldn’t possibly retry, what with Jongdae watching him, he placed it on the saucer as naturally as he could, and then walked out to serve it, hands trembling a trifle.

“My lattes tend to be sweeter than the standard. Sorry in advance if you don’t like them too sweet,” Baekhyun found himself explaining when he reached Jongdae’s table. The latter smiled amicably.

“It’s okay. A free drink is a free drink, I appreciate it lots. Thanks!”

“Cheers,” Baekhyun said, smiling a tad, and he stood there a bit uneasily while he waited for Jongdae to take a sip. He noticed that the latter was contemplating the palmier, so he started backing away, growing slightly mortified by the second.

And before either Jongdae or Baekhyun could say anything else, a group of eight or nine college students walked in and asked for ten caramel lattes for take out, so Baekhyun pretty much sprinted back into work mode without a last glance at the chestnut-colored-hair boy.

And after the cacophonic group had left, Baekhyun saw that only an empty cup sat at Jongdae’s table.

* * *

Jongdae was chatting with Minseok again, and Luhan was again infuriated with serious jealousy while waiting for Baekhyun to finish his latte (because Kyungsoo was away, _again_ ).

“Why is he still here? Why is he still all chitty-chatty with Baozi? Doesn’t he realize that he doesn’t stand a chance in this _fierce_ competition? Ugh, he’s leaning in too close,” whined Luhan as Baekhyun lidded the take-out cup, mostly unfazed.

“Luhan, he’s at a good two arms-length away from Minseok,” Baekhyun pointed out while he handed the latte. 

Luhan grabbed it and was about to make a step towards them _again_ when Baekhyun—perhaps out of déjà vu insight—extended an arm to block him. “Come on, Luhan. You’ve got class right now.”

Luhan turned to eye Baekhyun, not in a threatening way, but more of a heartbroken way, and for once Baekhyun felt a teensy bit bad. This was probably why he really did not and should not get involved anymore.

“I’ll go now without causing casualties if you help me with this teeny tiny favor.”

Baekhyun immediately rolled his eyes and took back all the sympathetic “aww he’s heartbroken” thoughts and dunked them into his mental trashcan with no reversible functions. 

Luhan’s last “teeny tiny favor”, a month ago, was for Kyungsoo to add a purple and bubbly homemade love potion, which Luhan had concocted, into Minseok’s morning cappuccino. 

“Luhan, it would be _illegal_ to poison my client,” Baekhyun muttered flatly before the other could even continue. 

Luhan pouted. “I wasn’t going to go _that_ far. But if you mean to reject my offer, then I might as well go deal with my business on my own. So long, Baekhyun-ah. It was unfortunate we couldn’t get through with the deal.”

Baekhyun sometimes did wonder how serious or sarcastic Luhan was. If only he could figure out which of the two applied to this particular situation.

But before Luhan could even take two steps towards Jongdae and Minseok, Baekhyun, albeit really, _really_ reluctant, grabbed at Luhan’s arm and said, “I have another offer.”

* * *

At this point, Baekhyun was not sure what he was doing.

He realized he was slowly getting involved whether he wanted to or not, and he was not entirely sure why, which was what bothered him the most. 

He half-heartedly wanted to blame Kyungsoo for it because the latter had been absent both times when Baekhyun got unnecessarily “involved”. Kyungsoo would have probably stopped him on both occasions, had he been there making Luhan’s terribly sugary lattes. And Kyungsoo would have probably solved problems a bit better. Perhaps nothing could have been done for Jongdae’s lost drink, but at the very least, Kyungsoo would not have made a deal with an angel-faced Devil. Only airheads like Baekhyun would momentarily forget whom they were dealing with.

Heck, Baekhyun could not even really tell if Luhan would keep his word. _That_ really worried him. But Baekhyun could only pray for Luhan’s football sportsmanship—that he bragged about once every blue moon—reminding the latter of a bit of decency and fair play in life.

Though, in retrospective, had Baekhyun let Luhan go do his vindictive acts that very day, and certainly they would have been a notch nastier than the previous time, the damages would probably be too much for him to deal with alone without Kyungsoo there as his air cushion. Not to mention, Jongdae would probably be undeservingly hurt in one way or another. 

Not that Baekhyun should particularly care. 

He just thought that he really could not afford offering too many lattes out of his purse when he could have had crazy admirers at bay.

Furthermore, there had been too many customers in the shop back then. Baekhyun was not even sure to what extent Luhan’s shamelessness could go, and he honestly did not want to test it out. Actually, no one should ever want to test that out.

So, technically, Baekhyun did not make a bad decision per se. In fact, he even congratulated to himself mentally for thinking so fast because Luhan seemed to have been full HP and full MP that day. Who knew what could have happened. 

“So, how are you planning to distract Jongdae?” Luhan had inquired, completely absorbed in the spontaneous plan Baekhyun had proposed. Luhan’s eerie zeal seemed as if they were coming up with some sort of conspiracy in a shady dark room with only one light source and a poker table. Except, they had just been at a more isolated table of the café in broad daylight, Luhan seated and Baekhyun standing. 

Baekhyun had just said whatever back then. Something along the lines of studying coffee culture stuff more seriously, so Jongdae could chat with him instead of Minseok. And then asking to take over some hand-drip orders from Minseok —he just needed a bit of practice— so that his boss could do something else like ordering sugar pouches on the phone in the back kitchenette, or what have you.

_It shouldn't be too hard_ , Baekhyun had tried to convince the other, but he honestly wasn’t sure himself if he truly had enough ability, confidence, and patience.

“You’ll break his heart,” Luhan continued rather solemnly, sitting back in his chair.

Baekhyun bit his lip, not sure where Luhan, out of all people, was going with this. “I won’t be trying to seduce him. I’m not into guys.” 

A pause. “We can be friends.”

Luhan cracked his neck several times before muttering, a sort of dim light glinting in his eyes, “You’ll probably break your own heart too.”

Baekhyun sat back heavily. “Well Luhan, had you _just_ been a normal guy with a normal crush…”

“Shut up, I _am_ a normal guy with a normal crush.”

“Luhan.”

“Okay, okay, so have we got a deal here? Yes, yes?”

* * *

Baekhyun woke up the next morning, more confused than ever.

He sat up on his bed, slinked back into his blankets the next moment, and then sat up again in utter dilemma. 

He glanced at his alarm clock, noting that he had around two minutes before he needed to get out and go to work.

He groaned and buried his face into two handfuls of blanket.

_I only have to distract him, be friendly_ , _or be friends_ , he hushed to himself. Nothing else. No strings attached. Besides, Baekhyun didn’t really think Jongdae had a real crush on his boss (they only ever chat about coffee), so it should all be safe. No hard feelings, and no feelings played too hard with.

Yet somehow he did not really know what to do, and he was still in his PJs, still half an hour away from stepping inside the café. He should probably call to take a day off, he even pondered. 

But he thought that might be unwise, so instead he rolled himself from the bed to the floor, in high hopes that it would wake him up.

 

 

Forty minutes later, Baekhyun was at the café, groggily counting the money in the cash register as per routine, and honestly he sort of wished he could just do that for the rest of the day and not need to interact with anyone at all. Not with Luhan, or Minseok, or Kyungsoo, or all the other bloody customers, and especially not with Kim Jongdae.

But of course Luhan would come waltzing in first in the morning to check up on Minseok his God and Baekhyun his Servant, and then as if Baekhyun’s mighty task had to be tested immediately, Jongdae walked in five minutes after.

Luhan gave Baekhyun a really subtle glance before leaning a bit closer towards Minseok while the professional barista prepared a cup of Columbian, which was a fairly unusual order coming from Luhan.

Baekhyun would have motioned to Jongdae to come over, but the latter had surprisingly gone straight up to Baekhyun as if on cue. 

Perhaps he was intimidated by Luhan’s presence, Baekhyun fathomed.

“I’ll take a latte today,” Jongdae asked as he shuffled through his wallet, his cheeky smile forming when he looked back up, which really put Baekhyun off balance and made him break out in a cold sweat.

“Ah. Um, to go or…”

“For here.”

Baekhyun realized his hands were shaking when he was trying to calculate the change that he should be giving back. He rummaged through the coins a bit, but somehow he couldn’t seem to get his gray cells to work properly. He was decidedly really nervous.

“I’ll sit over there, if you don’t mind,” Jongdae said casually, pointing to the spot he had sat that time when Baekhyun had offered him the free latte.

Baekhyun really didn’t feel too swell at that point. Even Kyungsoo was looking at him a bit concerned. Baekhyun looked at Jongdae and then at the floor, and then he slumped to the floor and took several deep breaths. Kyungsoo took that as a cue to help make the latte, and Baekhyun thanked him with an apologetic look.

Kyungsoo made it within the conventional two minutes, and served it, but came back to the counter a bit disconcerted.

“He’s asking for you,” Kyungsoo told Baekhyun.

Baekhyun flailed a bit. “What for?”

“He said he wanted to ask you something.”

Baekhyun felt more stressed and pressured than all the times he was writing for an accumulative exam he did not study for, added up, but he mustered some non-existent courage and stood up and walked towards Jongdae’s table in a slightly jittery gait.

“Ah, sorry. I don’t know your name…” started Jongdae with a friendly smile.

“Baekhyun. You can call me Baekhyun…”

“Mine’s—”

“Kim Jongdae. You told Minseok. He told us.”

“Ahaha,” Jongdae chuckled, “So he talks about me?”

“We gossip about all of our customers, really.”

Jongdae feigned dejection, but quickly recovered. “Are you busy?”

Baekhyun sort of wanted to reply affirmatively, but the thing was, there weren’t any other customers to wait on, and Kyungsoo was unimpressively fiddling with his phone.

“I guess not?” Baekhyun tried. Jongdae’s face lit up, and he motioned for Baekhyun to sit down, but Baekhyun explained it would be against working standards if he did. Jongdae raised an eyebrow but continued anyway.

“Right, so, I wanted to ask you about something?” Jongdae started, “If you don’t mind, of course.”

Baekhyun minded so much, but he mechanically replied, “No, I don’t mind.”

Jongdae then suddenly lowered his voice. “Who is that guy with Minseok-hyung? And what did I do to him?”

Baekhyun felt faint and unconsciously slipped into the chair opposite to Jongdae, which seemed to have amused the latter.

“Um, he’s a student from abroad. Goes to S—— University. The one close by? Yeah.”

“Yeah, okay, he doesn’t go to my college, so what’s he got against me? I don’t know him, and I’m sure he doesn’t know me. I wanted to ask ever since he spilled my coffee, but I kept telling myself it must have been my imagination.”

“Yeah, it’s probably… your… imagination,” Baekhyun affirmed cautiously.

“Well, thing is, he keeps glaring at me every time he and I are here, so that incident came back to nag me, as of late,” Jongdae refuted, “See, he’s even glaring at me right now.”

“He’s like that with just about everyone. Don’t take it personally,” Baekhyun suggested in a dismissive tone, fidgeting a bit as he thought about how Luhan was probably scrutinizing them with a billion magnifying glasses.

Jongdae bit his lip, and there was an awkward pause where he took a gulp of latte. “This latte sure isn’t as sweet as last time’s,” he randomly commented, “I guess it would be different though; you didn’t make it this time.”

Baekhyun gulped uneasily. “I told you my lattes tend to be sweeter.”

Jongdae took another sip. 

“Might be the milk frothing.” 

Baekhyun shifted his feet nervously.

“But did you know?” Jongdae mused, “Getting sweet milk means you’re steaming it to the right temperature, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Baekhyun felt his shoulders relax a tad as he realized that the topic was shifting. “Haha, yeah, I was checking up on that, last night actually!”

“Optimum milk frothing temperature is sixty to seventy degrees Celsius, or a hundred fifty to a hundred seventy Fahrenheit, if I remember correctly,” said Jongdae.

“Wow, I checked that last night and I don’t even remember the numbers. But honestly, coffee making isn’t about thermometers and all. At one point it still all comes down to mastering the technique.”

Jongdae laughed, and somehow his eccentric laughter warmly tranquilized a good chunk of Baekhyun’s nerves.

“Did you know that despite all the tutorials and guides online, the thing about getting ‘optimum’ milk temperature is through how hot the pitcher feels in your hand?” Baekhyun added.

“That’s subjective though, isn’t it?”

Baekhyun grinned cockily. “But that’s where true talent factors in! That’s the difference between a real live barista and a preset machine!”

“I bet I could froth milk just as optimally as you could as long as I’ve got a thermometer,” Jongdae proposed.

Baekhyun narrowed his eyes playfully at Jongdae. “You would lose so bad.”

“Let’s bet on it!”

But before they could continue, a few customers walked in, and Baekhyun gave Jongdae an apologetic but friendly glance before strolling back to his post and getting on with his job.

He tried not thinking about how all his muscles and brain cells were now all relaxed.

* * *

“There’s a local latte art competition going on at the S—— Expo hall this Saturday,” Kyungsoo casually informed while he was etching art on a mocha.

“Ohh,” Baekhyun replied in a disinterested yawn. He flipped a page of a Japanese manual on coffee bean roasting and didn’t even look up. Kyungsoo frowned.

“Didn't you have a day off, this Saturday?”

“Hmmm,” Baekhyun flipped another page.

“Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo grunted.

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you. I don’t want to go. We can switch day-offs. I don’t care,” mumbled Baekhyun as he tried to figure out what the description said under a particularly difficult diagram in the book. 

“Save it. Jongdae’s going,” Kyungsoo said flatly.

Baekhyun looked up curiously, “Jongdae’s going? How do you know?”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “Cause he told me. In fact, he told me to tell you, yesterday. You were out to buy eggs for Yixing.”

“Oh,” Baekhyun contemplated, “And?”

Kyungsoo sighed. “I’m not an interpreter. Go figure out the ‘and’ by yourself.”

Kyungsoo walked out to serve the mocha order.

* * *

“Wow, you made it.”

“What even made you think I wouldn’t?”

“Well, Kyungsoo said you most likely wouldn’t show up.”

There was a pause.

“… Why, I wonder what made him think that. I’m very social. And I don’t ever say no to free lattes.”

“I thought so,” Jongdae replied playfully.

They settled down at one of the higher benches, where the view was better, looking down at the center of the gymnasium where the espresso machines stood.

They chatted for a while, arguing over which was the most difficult latte art and only got interrupted when the competition started. Then they started picking favorites out of the participants they knew little about, judging from technique to posture to attire in such loud commentary that some staff member came over to shush them twice.

“And the winner of today’s competition is—”

Turned out Baekhyun’s favorite participant won, and so he was marching triumphantly before Jongdae who whined sheepishly and said it was just a lucky guess.

“I swear it’s all about the milk frothing,” Baekhyun insisted as he drank the nth cup of free latte. 

“Whatever.”

“Sore loser,” grinned Baekhyun as they realized they were going to part ways when they reached the crossroad in front of the exposition hall.

“Whatever,” was Jongdae’s childish reply but suddenly grinned and said, “At least I’ll be right about one thing though.”

“And what would that be?”

“Considering the twenty seven cups of latte you’ve drunk over the past four hours, you’ll have diarrhea and a hard time falling asleep tonight.”

“I can’t believe you counted!” gasped Baekhyun in a comical way, which probably showed that he had indeed had a bit too much. “But it’s okay. They were tiny cups. I’ll be fine.”

“We’ll see about that!”

* * *

The next day, Baekhyun felt disastrously awful, but he tried very hard not to show it. Screw Jongdae for checking up on him, with a gleeful smile, right when he unlocked the door of the coffee shop at six in the morning.

“And how are you, my dearest Baekhyunnie,” shined Jongdae, “Did you sleep well?”

Baekhyun had tried really hard to get rid of the dark circles, but it seemed that Jongdae had already caught on, as he was biting his lip down trying not to laugh.

“Fuck you.”

“Sore loser,” glowed Jongdae with a smile that Baekhyun wanted to punch away.

“I don’t ever want to drink another cup of latte. Ever,” Baekhyun resoluted tearfully.

“You’ll be making plenty of them today though, aren’t you? Kyungsoo not being around.”

“You just had to rub that in my face, now, didn’t you.”

“I’m sorry except I’m not really,” Jongdae chirped, “By the by, is Minseok around today? A friend got me some fresh Mandheling, and I wanted him to try some out.”

And then suddenly, obligations started to weigh Baekhyun down. He had completely forgotten about Minseok. And Luhan. And everything else. He had forgotten that Jongdae was a fan of black coffee over espresso-based drinks. He had forgotten that he was just distracting Jongdae. He had forgotten that Jongdae probably preferred chatting about coffee with a real professional in the first place. Not some amateur boy who could only insist about milk frothing.

“Yeah. He’ll be around. Not sure what time. But he’ll be around,” Baekhyun answered despondently. 

Jongdae cocked his head at the drop of Baekhyun’s tone, but didn’t seem to catch on and said, “Neat. I’ll take out a latte now and come back later.”

* * *

Jongdae and Baekhyun’s laughters filled the empty café on that late Sunday evening.

Jongdae had a thermometer in one hand and some milk stains on the other as he backed away from Baekhyun who stared down at a brutally failed attempt of milk steaming: a pitcher overflowing with monstrous and opaque bubbles that looked completely unappetizing.

“Dude, you can’t even froth milk for the life of you, never mind getting the temperature right,” cackled Baekhyun. “Well, it’s your loss. Pay up now. How much did we bet on again?”

“We didn’t,” Jongdae said as he washed his hands.

“Alright! I get to decide then,” beamed Baekhyun. He tapped his index against his chin and pondered.

Jongdae waited, but Baekhyun couldn’t decide even after a good five minutes had passed.

There were a lot of things Baekhyun could ask for, ranging from monetary values to stupid dares, but he really could not decide mainly because he did not know Jongdae all that well either.

“I’ll take a rain check,” Baekhyun proposed at last. 

Jongdae bit his lip while smiling and then answered, “Sure.”

What with the moment dying down, Baekhyun grabbed the pitcher and started washing it along with some cups. Jongdae walked out of the counter area and stretched his arms and back.

No one came in; it was a peculiar leisurely Sunday. And it was odd for only Baekhyun and Jongdae to be around alone. Kyungsoo had had a cold and taken the evening off, and Jongin had left just an hour ago. Minseok was actually not coming in for the day, excusing himself because he had an important thing to attend to. But Baekhyun did not bother telling that to Jongdae—who had been waiting for several hours. 

Baekhyun did not know why he didn’t. In fact, it wasn’t even a question of whether he wanted to or not. Somehow, each time he tried opening his mouth to inform Jongdae that the guy had been waiting in vain, nothing came out. He just couldn’t get it out. 

He shook it off, thinking it definitely must have been because he didn’t want to spend his Sunday evening alone.

“Hey Baekhyun.”

“Hmm?”

“I… um. I wanted to ask you something.”

“Hmm? About milk frothing?”

“No, err, about … umm … Minseok.”

Baekhyun turned around slowly to face Jongdae, starting to feel his fingers tremble a trifle. 

“W-what about him?” he tried to sound unconcerned but stuttered right there.

“Is he…err, um, single? Or is he dating someone?”

Baekhyun felt his stomach churn in pain as he suddenly recalled his deal with Luhan, and his silence over not telling Jongdae that Minseok was not coming around today.

“I can’t disclose stuff on my boss’s private life, Jongdae,” Baekhyun opted as an answer.

Jongdae pouted childishly, which made Baekhyun relax a tad, but he quickly tensed up again when Jongdae’s expression turned solemn.

Baekhyun turned back and looked down at the sink, and before he knew it, he had asked: “Why are you asking?”

Jongdae looked down and bit his lip.

A few minutes passed, probably a good ten minutes, and Baekhyun thought the topic had sunk, so he continued with washing the dishes when Jongdae said, in an almost inaudible voice against the sound of rushing water:

“I was just curious. I had a crush on him, and all.”

Baekhyun dropped a saucer and it broke into pieces inside the large sink. Jongdae flinched at the sound but quickly walked over to Baekhyun.

“Are you okay?”

Baekhyun looked down at the pieces and frowned. He then looked at his trembling hands.

_I didn't cut myself_ , he observed. _I'm not hurt._

“Ah! I’m fine,” he tittered nervously, “Why…um… the past tense though?”

“Are you sure? Hey! Don’t just pick up the pieces with your bare hands…”

“It’s fine, they’re big pieces. I’ll be careful. Why the past tense,” Baekhyun said in surprisingly monotonous succession.

There was a long pause again.

“I’ll leave that obvious interpretation to you, Baekhyun,” Jongdae narrowed his eyes, in a careful but playful way, probably noticing how tense Baekhyun was. 

“Clearly it means you don’t have a crush anymore,” Baekhyun suggested judiciously.

“Clearly.”

“Is it because of Luhan?”

“Who’s that?”

“The pink-haired guy who spilled your coffee the other day.”

“So he had something against me.”

“He has something against everyone who gets within two arm-lengths of Minseok. It’s not personal,” pointed out Baekhyun. Jongdae nodded with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I guess it just grew cold with time. Probably wasn’t even a proper crush to begin with, you know? It’s just that, well, it was the first time I saw someone pour water so… sensually.”

That made Baekhyun burst out in laughter, and Jongdae smiled cheekily, almost proud of finally lifting the weighty atmosphere.

Baekhyun took the pouring kettle Minseok had used that day and started teasing Jongdae by imitating the pouring, with his other hand playing with his apron, a sly look and smile on his face, and a wiggle of an eyebrow before bursting into fits of gleeful laughter again. 

Jongdae hit him in the shoulder impishly. “You’re gross!”

“I’m not the one who fell for someone pouring water _sensually_! Gross!”

“Shut up!”

“Too late!”

Jongdae was grinning from ear to ear although he was blushing in mortification. He let Baekhyun laugh a bit more before trying to change the subject. Or continuing with it. Whichever he was doing.

“Well, I guess he’s not coming in today, isn’t he? It’s almost eight.”

Baekhyun hiccupped discreetly as he rubbed his cheeks that were sore from laughing. “It seems not. When’s the next time you can come by? Maybe you can try next time.”

“I’ll actually be on a trip tomorrow. For my internship. I’ll be leaving at noon, and I’d be busy packing in the morning. So I guess I won’t be around for about two weeks, or so.”

The news surprised Baekhyun, but he couldn’t get himself to say anything other than, “The Mandheling would go bad.”

“Yeah… well. I guess. It’s a pity. But I’ll at least try to make myself a cup tonight at home.”

Baekhyun’s eyes lit up a tad. “You’ve a pouring kettle and filter holder and all that?”

Jongdae looked at him slightly incredulously. “Sure. I’m a coffee enthusiast, just in case you forgot. I even got a valueless German-brand antique brass hand grinder.”

Baekhyun’s eyes lit up, and Jongdae smiled like a child who had come to school to show off an awesome toy their father had gotten them.

“Did you want to see it?” he suggested, “when do you get off?”

“Nine,” Baekhyun responded. “It’d be a bit late…”

“I don’t mind! If you come over, I could make you a cup of Mandheling too.”

Baekhyun bit his lip, but after a few very long seconds, he nodded.

* * *

The coffee grinder was fascinating. The thing was, as much as Baekhyun had already seen many of these kinds of vintage coffee stuff in displays at coffee shops, he had never ever touched one or felt one or even used one.

Grinding manually was something he had already tried before, with a traditional box grinder. But he hadn’t known that cylinder hand grinders existed. Granted, they were a bit tougher to manipulate and required more force to get started, but they were fun because they made him feel like with every turn he made, some sort of magic was happening.

And the Mandheling had been, indeed, magical. The dry and bitter aftertaste turned bittersweet, the flavor was enhanced, the scent lighter but enriched, the body full but not too hefty. 

Baekhyun was also amazed at how Jongdae was actually pretty good for an amateur in hand-drip coffee. He wanted to think that it was the equipment Jongdae worked with, but part of him knew deep down that it was most likely raw talent just waiting to happen. He was decidedly envious because he couldn’t do jack shit about hand-dripping black coffee, but then again he was also utterly inspired.

After all, when could coffee make one feel so… magical?

Baekhyun sat down at the couch in the small flat. He looked around as he waited for Jongdae who was putting away stuff in the kitchen.

He glanced up at the clock and realized it was around ten-thirty. He wasn’t going to be sleeping tonight, he had observed. But he didn’t mind. He took another sip. There was a bookcase filled with books and magazine series on coffee, and then down below were books on music as well as two or three vinyl disc packs and numerous CDs.

“How’s it, Baekhyun-ah? Good?”

“You should really try working at a coffee shop. People’d fall for your coffee,” Baekhyun genuinely complimented. 

Jongdae smiled briefly. “Perhaps.”

“I mean, you even got all these cool gadgets too. I bet Minseok doesn’t have an antique brass hand grinder. Where did you even get it?”

“An eBay auction, actually. It didn’t cost too much since the interest isn’t as big as it may seem. That, or I was extremely lucky.”

“I thought it would have cost an arm and a leg.”

“Well, clearly I still have my arm and leg.”

Jongdae sat down next to Baekhyun, and that made the latter a bit uneasy given that it was probably the first time they sat next to each other so closely. The couch looked like it was meant for three people to fit in, but really it was meant for one and a half person to sit instead. Baekhyun leaned away from Jongdae by a centimeter as discreetly as possible. 

As they both finished their coffees, Baekhyun stretched his legs and yawned.

“Last bus is coming up soon. I should probably get goi—” he started.

“You can stay over. It’s chilly outside,” Jongdae cut in hastily.

Baekhyun fidgeted a bit in his seat.

“But you’re going on a trip tomorrow—”

“I leave at noon, I can take my time waking and packing,” Jongdae argued a bit weakly; his sentence ended with a bit less persuasion in tone, perhaps because he discerned Baekhyun’s uneasiness. 

Baekhyun looked down.

He actually really wanted to stay. But he had work the next day, and he was conceivably nervous as hell about the whole situation (what even made him think it was _okay_ for him to go to Jongdae’s when the guy had just confessed to him about having liked Minseok before?); not to mention, he was still unsure about many things going on with this “friendship”. Was it even friendship? 

In fact, if he could be honest with himself, was Baekhyun sure he was in this just to be _friends_? Why did he get involved with Minseok’s admirers anyways? Hadn’t he gone through months of dis-acknowledging their existence successfully? Why had he been stupid and offered a free latte? And then make a deal with the devil too?

He thought back to what Luhan had said about ‘breaking hearts’ and whatnot, and he started to feel a bit dejected until it struck him. 

He had a choice. He _could_ break hearts. And he could also avoid doing just that.

But somehow it was like too many things to juggle at once, too many things to sort, too many things to uncover and face. It wasn’t as easy as picking a) or b) on a multiple-choice question. Actually, scratch that. Multiple-choice questions were never easy in the first place.

And this was one of those extremely tough and tricky multiple-choice question.

He felt a bit dilemmatic, a bit impatiently distressed, the way one would feel when untangling earphones that wouldn’t untangle. And he felt ultimately perplexed about the situation to the point that his mind would just go blank and cacophonic and blank and cacophonic again. 

He had never felt so uncertain in his life. And it was just a question of whether or not he wanted to crash at a guy friend’s place. It wasn’t complicated.

But it was. 

Because Jongdae wasn’t just a guy friend.

And because Baekhyun wasn’t really into guys. 

Or so he thought.

After perhaps an eternity, Jongdae spoke softly, but it broke the silence and Baekhyun’s thought process like glass shattering on the floor.

“Hey, if you really don’t want to, that’s okay I’d unders—”

Baekhyun really needed to reassess and recalibrate his mind-body coordination. Because sadly that was exactly the first thing that came to his mind when he realized what he was doing. Because what he was doing had definitely not gone through authorization in his brain.

He was kissing Jongdae.

He didn’t mean to do anything rash. At most he was just testing the waters. At most he was admitting things to himself. At most he was giving in. 

At most, he was in love.

His lips had been still, unmoving, pressed gently and shyly against Jongdae’s. Baekhyun had closed his eyes, squeezed shut so tightly, as if he were planning to never open them ever again because he was so scared.

He was atop Jongdae, had pushed the latter into the opposite cushion. He was breathing a bit hard, and he realized the coffee mug wasn’t in his hands anymore, but on the floor. He winced when he saw it, but before he could back off, pick it up, apologize properly and perhaps run out of the flat like a bat out of hell, Jongdae pulled him down again, a hand at the back of Baekhyun’s neck, twirling gently, once, twice, with the ends of his hair, lips interlocked again.

Again everything was a blank, and Baekhyun only registered what was going on when he pulled back slightly, huffing for air, looking into Jongdae’s eyes without really looking at them at the same time.

Jongdae then lowered his hand to Baekhyun’s shoulder, and pushed lightly, getting him off his lap, putting him right back into his original seat.

“Baekhyun, I—”

“I like you,” Baekhyun cut in before he realized. And then both of them just sat there, blinking.

There was an odd pause, and the air became a bit stiff. 

“I…” Jongdae started, leaning back a bit uneasily, eyes slightly diverting to the side.

Then it dawned on Baekhyun.

“Oh god. I-I didn’t even think about that,” he stammered. It was like he suddenly realized there was an option c) to the whole problem.

Jongdae was very much confused. “Think about what?”

A pause.

“About whether you even like me or not.”

Jongdae burst out laughing, and Baekhyun blushed a strange shade of red.

“Yeah, um, about that,” Jongdae said as he chuckled a bit more. He leaned closer to Baekhyun, smiling a bit lazily.

Baekhyun eyed him curiously.

And then Jongdae closed the distance between them again and pushed Baekhyun down and kissed him gently at the corner of Baekhyun’s mouth, before moving back to center, pressing a bit harder than the first time, but still not going much further than that, and then Jongdae pulled back.

Baekhyun was a bit dazed, at that point. But he then moved forward with a sort of kinetic momentum, making Jongdae think they were going for it again, except instead, Baekhyun landed near Jongdae’s left ear, in which he whispered, in a sort of needy way.

“This isn’t how it works. Confess to me properly, Jongdae.”

Jongdae smirked. He settled his head onto the other’s shoulder and placed his hands on Baekhyun’s hip casually.

“It was supposed to be my line, but you stole it,” Jongdae whined into Baekhyun’s ear.

Baekhyun kissed Jongdae’s temple as an apology, but got right back to standby mode for Jongdae’s confession.

Both of them just breathed into each other for a few moments, letting silence take over. And slowly, they started hearing all sorts of things within it: the clock ticking, the kitchen sink’s tap leaking, the cars driving by outside, the dulled rock music that was playing in some flat three doors down the hallway, and their different heartbeats slowly becoming synchronized. 

 

And then Jongdae finally said it, every word dropping like shooting stars across a navy sky.

 

 

“I like you, too.”

* * *

The two weeks that Jongdae had been gone for his trip were the two longest weeks Baekhyun had ever waited in his entire life.

Granted, they had been texting. A whole lot. And they talked on and on and on, about everything and anything, and they finally got to know each more, way beyond just coffee culture and polite propriety. 

Jongdae was actually a music student, sent several covers to Baekhyun, who secretly looped every single one of them every day on his way to and from work, and even slipped one into the café’s playlist when Yixing wasn’t watching. Whenever the song came up in the café, every four hours or so, Baekhyun would sing along in warm whispers, with a cheeky grin on his face, while serving customers who looked at him suspiciously.

Jongdae was also not as geeky or stiff as Baekhyun had imagined in conversations other than coffee. In fact, Jongdae was a whiny and clever brat. That was one thing Baekhyun had not expected at all. 

On the other hand, Baekhyun had grown more comfortable with sharing a few things with the other. Including the fact that he might have just come out of the closet, and he did not know anything at all about this kind of relationship.

“Can we hold hands in public?” was one of his main concerns, along with the obligatory questions of what was inserted into what, in bed. And then, “Who was going to be the receiver or the giver? Was it based on age? Or size? Or overall manliness?” to which he quickly added, “I’ve got them all anyways. Age, size, and manliness, you name it.”

Jongdae had pretty much “LOL”ed, “LMAO”ed, “ROFL”ed, and “ur so cute”ed at everything, but Baekhyun didn’t mind that he was being laughed at, mainly because each time he read these abbreviations on the conversation chat room, Jongdae’s warm characteristic laugh would echo in his mind. He loved Jongdae’s laughter. He wished the guy would come back sooner, so he could hear him laugh, live and real-time. 

“I’m really happy for you,” Luhan was telling him one day when Baekhyun was making a cup of Columbian for him. He had been practicing hand-drip as of late, and since Luhan usually added a lot of sugar and milk into the coffee, he didn’t need to worry too much about getting the taste accurate or perfect. Because it would all be covered up by milk and sugar anyways.

“Of course you are. You have one less competition,” Baekhyun replied, but he was rather gleeful anyways, that people were happy for him.

“No! You don’t say! Actually, have you noticed that rainbow-haired boy who’s been chatting with Minseok a lot lately? I think he’s new competition. Do you know him?”

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. Of course he would know. It wasn’t an every day thing to see a rainbow-haired boy. Baekhyun had thought that Minseok and Luhan had been flashy enough, but this one was over the top. And he was quite tall too. Very spottable. 

“Yeah. Oh Sehun. Interesting client. He came in the first time asking if there were bubble tea in this coffee shop,” Baekhyun commented. Luhan rolled his eyes. “I think Minseok likes him though. He talks about him a lot.”

“Right,” groaned Luhan. 

And then the door’s wind chime tinkled and Baekhyun glanced up.

“Hey! Is Baekhyun-ah around toda—”

Baekhyun smirked while Luhan snorted.

“Yeah, he sure is,” Luhan said. “In fact, he didn’t take any day offs for two full weeks just so he could take them off when you came back.”

Baekhyun frowned. “I did not!”

Jongdae laughed, and the laughter made Baekhyun grin widely. Luhan pretty much just grabbed his coffee and shook his head while he walked to Kyungsoo in hopes of striking up conversations that weren’t filled with cheesy lovey-dovey stuff. 

“I’ll have a latte please,” Jongdae ordered.

“You sure? I’ve been practicing hand-drip stuff and all. I can do Columbians well. Or B.B.s. Or whatever,” Baekhyun proffered.

Jongdae smiled. “I honestly miss your sweet lattes though. Maybe you could hand-drip coffee for me later? Wanna stop by my house again tonight? What time do you get of—”

“I’m getting off soon, actually. Minseok will be taking my shift with a new worker, in about half an hour.”

“Nice. We’d even have time to go for a movie or something before we head back my place.”

“A proper date, you mean to say?”

“I guess.”

“Who’s paying?”

Jongdae grinned. “Well, _hyung_.”

Baekhyun gasped playfully. “You don’t mean—!”

Jongdae gave Baekhyun a quick peck on the cheek as an apology. And Baekhyun really wanted to say “apology NOT accepted” but something better came up.

“Actually, Jongdae, I still have that rain cheque from your milk frothing disaster, remember?” chirped Baekhyun as he brought a menu up, blocked the side where the customers could see, and cozily kissed Jongdae before he could complain.

* * *

**TAIL PIECE**

“You taste of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.”

“Why are you so _good_ at this!”

“That makes four to two, for me. Better work your taste buds, Baekhyun.”

“This doesn’t make any sense; I am the bloody barista here with a barista job—”

They were playing a common coffee culture game—though with a twist— at Baekhyun’s place.

Several cups of both water and coffee—ranging from full to half-full to empty—were sprawled around non-uniformly across Baekhyun’s low living room table.

The game rules were simple. 

Baekhyun and Jongdae had both hand-dripped five small cups of coffee each, labeled them with boring alphabets, and had to guess each other’s coffees to see who could recognize the most. 

At least, that was how the test was usually done amongst coffee enthusiasts. 

But Baekhyun had drunk from his own cup by accident, leaving little to no choice (though this was debatable) for Jongdae to plunge in and kiss and lick the inside of Baekhyun’s mouth to get a chance at guessing.

It really was the most spontaneous idea. 

It added to the level of difficulty too because the coffee’s aftertaste was also mixed with the other’s … individual flavor. 

Not to mention, Baekhyun couldn’t really get pass Jongdae’s own flavor to focus on what in the world the other had drunk. He was playing the game with an early handicap.

Mandheling, Guatemala, Yirgacheffe, Kenya, or Hawaii Kona.

They were typically easy distinctions, but Baekhyun could not get over how heavenly each one tasted when mixed with a bit of Jongdae.

Baekhyun moaned blithely as the younger bit his lower lip. Jongdae brought his hand up to Baekhyun’s cheek gently as he tasted Baekhyun slowly, light swipes and tender kisses and delicate nibbles.

When Jongdae withdrew slightly, licking his own lips, Baekhyun pouted and waited as the other chuckled and said, “You cheated. This is Guatemala again. You didn’t do Hawaii Kona.”

“I thought you would have fallen for the trap,” Baekhyun huffed.

Jongdae smirked proudly before plunging in to kiss Baekhyun again, a hand at Baekhyun’s hip, bringing him closer, as if the latter were his prize for winning.

Baekhyun swung his arms around Jongdae’s neck and let himself hang from there lazily. His weight dragged them both down to the sofa’s cushion, with Jongdae on top.

Jongdae then started to trail down with kisses that gradually grew rougher when he reached Baekhyun’s neck, sucking a bit at a protruding vein that appeared as Baekhyun turned his head away for Jongdae to have better access.

“Jongdae,” Baekhyun rasped, his eyes closed.

Jongdae brought his hand up from Baekhyun’s hip to the small of his back, then swirled back front and lifted Baekhyun’s shirt a bit. He dragged his fingers across the skin, and caressed the elder’s every inch.

Baekhyun started to laugh and Jongdae smirked against his neck.

“T-that tickles,” Baekhyun mumbled.

Jongdae kissed Baekhyun’s jaw in response. He then motioned, playing with Baekhyun’s top, to have it taken off. Baekhyun bit his lip as Jongdae gave a bit of room for the former to take off his shirt. The barista took it off as slowly as he could as he realized that Jongdae pouted in impatience, which was secretly one of his favorite Jongdae expressions.

“Baekhyun, come on,” Jongdae whined. He tried helping Baekhyun but the latter pushed him back.

“It’s _hyung_ for you, Jongdae.”

“Technically it’s not.”

“I don’t care.”

Jongdae moped, muttered something about “four month difference”, which Baekhyun thought was cute, and then began kissing Baekhyun’s collarbone as soon as the shirt was off.

“God, you taste of latte all over.”

“Makes no sense,” pondered Baekhyun, “I haven’t drunk lattes in forever.”

Jongdae hummed against Baekhyun’s skin in response, which made him tremble lightly.

Then Jongdae’s hands went further down and started working on Baekhyun’s pants, unzipping him grudgingly slow, tugging at the waistband once or twice, a hand ghosting over the growing bulge, before falling down to repose—to Baekhyun’s dismay—on his thigh.

“Jongdae, _please_ ,” Baekhyun heard himself pleading.

Jongdae waited a few more seconds vindictively just to get back at Baekhyun’s painstakingly slow half-strip, even if he himself wasn’t exactly comfortable within his trousers.

Baekhyun whined and was about to reach to his own needs, but Jongdae saw to that and swept Baekhyun’s hands away, before pinning them above the other’s head. Baekhyun instinctively arched his back, eyes glazed, making Jongdae’s mouth go dry.

“Jongdae…” Baekhyun crooned. And that made Jongdae harder than he’s ever been. He dived in to kiss Baekhyun again, while his hands hastily took off Baekhyun’s pants, briefs, and before long he had already got a few strokes up and down Baekhyun’s cock.

Baekhyun grabbed at Jongdae’s shoulders to steady himself, to find some sort of support and center while his mind went through waves and waves of oceanic pleasure.

It had been a month since they had officially started dating, and they had been giving each other handjobs and blowjobs plenty of times by that point—nothing beyond those yet though—so this was nothing entirely new. But the heavy scent of coffee in Baekhyun’s small cramped living room and the bittersweet coffee in his mouth and mind, blood, and body had heightened his adrenaline, and it just felt like a whole other experience.

Baekhyun then conjured up that very first time he heard Jongdae’s voice, asking him a recommendation, asking for a blend, asking for something mild but not too sour nor too full-bodied. It had implied so many other things too, Baekhyun thought. It meant he didn’t want anything too bitter, he didn’t want anything too sweet. He didn’t want milk to cover up the little body it had, and he didn’t want sugar to destroy the shy amount of sweetness it had, deep down, layered in all its other flavors. 

Jongdae kissed the inside of Baekhyun’s thigh, and then gently kissed the underside of his dick, near the base, dragging a bit, giving a sloppy lick occasionally, hand still working the length, sometimes teasing with the slit at its head just to _taste_ more of Baekhyun’s penurious moans.

Baekhyun remembered the way Jongdae had been confused over a spilled coffee, and how he had felt dejected while picking up the take-out cup, and how he was indecisive about the free drink. 

He remembered that it was the first time he had even touched him, albeit not intimately: dragging him to a seat, hands tugging at a sleeve, then pushing him down by the shoulders. Little did he know back then. Little did he know that he would be holding these same shoulders, fingers digging lovingly as the other worked magic.

Jongdae kissed the head of his cock once, and Baekhyun thought he was going to go crazy with how Jongdae was so fond of kisses, but then the younger retreated, and Baekhyun could only whimper.

Jongdae then kissed the slit one last long time before taking the whole length in. Jongdae hollowed his cheeks, and Baekhyun could not help but brush a finger against one of them.

Jongdae then slowly started to move back up, letting go of Baekhyun with a smack of the lips, and then plunging right back in. Baekhyun moved his hands into Jongdae’s chestnut-colored hair as he resisted the urge of crying out the other’s name; he had cried it out too many times already.

Baekhyun was panting really hard, and he knew he was going to reach that peak soon. 

But he was eager. He was eager for Jongdae’s turn to be over, so he could return the favor.

He started bucking his hips up, shoving into Jongdae’s mouth a tad deeper, biting down on his lip, face scowling for more and more and more, head sinking back on the cushion.

And when he felt he was about to come, he let go of Jongdae’s hair and his hands fell to his sides, leaving all the last choices to Jongdae.

Jongdae sucked more roughly and then Baekhyun’s mind went blank and cacophonic and blank and cacophonic again and then he thought of the first time they had kissed, how impromptu it was, how sudden, how unplanned, how desperate it was.

He spilled inside Jongdae’s mouth; the younger had decided to swallow every single drop.

Baekhyun took several deep breaths as he rolled to a side, trying to regain some energy. A first, a second, a third, but he could feel that Jongdae couldn’t possibly wait an eternity.

He then mustered all he could and pushed Jongdae back, hands clumsily at the other’s fly, fingers teasingly dancing across the painful-looking bulge as he tried his best to get the trousers off.

“I’m sure you’re the one who tastes like latte,” Baekhyun mused, “Peculiarly sweet latte. Haven’t you had lots of those, as of late? _My_ lattes.”

Jongdae chuckled, but his chuckle turned into a whine when Baekhyun had freed his dick and kissed it gently.

“You like kisses a lot, eh?” Baekhyun glanced up. He kissed the length’s spine slowly, then kissed some of the precum off, licking his lips, and then started a new trail of brief kisses that only made Jongdae whine and whine and whine.

“I actually hate it,” Baekhyun said, between kisses, “when you kiss me here,” and he kissed Jongdae’s inner thigh, “when I want you sucking me here,” and he sucked briefly at the head of Jongdae’s cock. “And I hate it when you just keep kissing when I really want you to be rough and sloppy—”

Jongdae flung his head backwards and groaned. 

“Fuck, B-Baek, just stop talking—” his voice hitched, “—ugh, oh just, _Baekhyun_ —”

“It’s _hyung_ for you!”

“Fucking Baekhyun-h-hyung.”

Baekhyun licked up the underside slowly, and when he had reached the top he took the cock into his mouth and sucked hard. He pumped the lower part of it with his hand while he played with humming in his mouth—Jongdae had taught him that it was a sublime sensation— trying to follow a tune, perhaps to “Baby, don’t cry” but losing it every time he heard Jongdae’s broken cries.

And then without much warning, Jongdae came.

Baekhyun tried swallowing everything but it had come so unexpectedly that he had choked a bit, and some of it leaked out of the corners of his mouth. He tried catching some before it fell on the couch or floor, and then wiped the rest with a tissue from the table.

While Jongdae’s breath slowly stabilized, Baekhyun took a few gulps of leftover water from their so-to-say innocent game, came back up and rested his head on Jongdae’s chest, nuzzled and settled down before singsonging, “Yeah, you really taste like my sweet lattes.”

Jongdae heaved a sigh as he nudged his head closer to Baekhyun’s, “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to drink your lattes with a clear conscience anymore.”

Baekhyun smirked. “I don’t ever think I’ll ever be able to drink anything coffee-related with a clear conscience anymore. You ruined it for me. Wasn’t this all supposed to be an innocent game?” 

A light pause. 

“By the way, what did _I_ taste like?”

Jongdae laughed a bit nervously. “Something sweet. I can’t decide. But I kept remembering that very first latte you made for me. Especially the palmier cookie art. It was cute…”

Baekhyun turned his face away, a bit mortified, a bit flattered. 

“That’s beside the point.”

Jongdae chuckled and Baekhyun felt dizzily happy hearing the laughter. He cuddled closer, and Jongdae swung an arm over him, and then Jongdae gently kissed Baekhyun for the nth time.

“We’re _so_ not going to fall asleep tonight,” Baekhyun muttered against the other’s lips.

“Is that a problem?” was the hazy reply.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Most likely not,” Baekhyun whispered in staccato before kissing Jongdae again. 

Baekhyun shifted himself down to the nook of Jongdae’s neck, and settled there.

He then listened to Jongdae’s heartbeat and felt Jongdae’s breathing more than he heard his own breaths. 

 

 

Baekhyun liked it this way.

They probably had an overdose of black coffee, and they probably would earn themselves a white night, but he liked it this way.

He definitely liked it this way.


End file.
